Ujju writes a story about Amelia, the puppet-maker:
She could never let her puppets go; in fact she never took the strings off.
“It is the curse of the puppet master. Unlike other toy makers, we become attached to our creations the minute we attach those strings. We help, guide and care for them and so, it [...]
Author Archive for River
GhostOfTomJoad reviews Iranian film-maker, Jafar Panahi’s, Dayereh.
Now, ‘circle’ may be a literal translation of the word in Persian but, to my mind, and in the context it is normally used in, dayereh should mean limits or boundaries…even confinement, of sorts. And, in the context of the film, I think, all of these meanings, including ‘circle’, [...]
Uma, the laidback rebel, writes about an air-kiss and other sundry things.
Well, it so happens that I wasn’t invited to this exclusive party and I think I know why. Apart from the fact that our paths in life have somehow not managed to cross till now, Mrs. G’s and mine, it was because the reception [...]
“Nishabd”, The World Cup and Board Exams
Published by March 11th, 2007 in India and Media. 0 CommentsWhat’s common to all three? Media hype, says Neena.
India already has the best squad, the best batsmen, the best bowlers, the best physio, the best host, the best tarot card readers, the best advertisements, the best official cricket song, the best coverage and the best opinion leaders. And if you are not upbeat about our [...]
Lesley E searches for a new house in Jungpura and finds that she has to answer absurd queries.
The house in O Block was gorgeous. ‘Are you a Christian’, the lady asked, seeing my card. Yes, I said, you could say that. ‘Ek to aap aurat hai aur woh bhi Christian. You must be eating a [...]
The Desi Knitter writes about Holi…
I haven’t played with water and colours for Holi in nearly a decade. This weekend, though, it’s the spring festival again, and many of the friends I played with back then are in Delhi, getting together for a Holi party. Very kindly, they have included me in the emails discussing [...]
Read this post by Pragya Thakur. It’s beautiful.
And today, as I settled into my regular seat in the bus, right behind the driver, the first seat by the window, adjusted the seat to my level of comfort, turned on the overhead light and smoothed my clothes to minimize a wrinkly effect upon descent, I realized [...]
Screen Sifar writes a PS to the post that she wrote for the new Blank Noise Blogathon (Action Heroes). The Post Script talks about the clothes she wore on the day she was harassed.
On the eve of the incident which I cite as harassment, I was wearing a loose cut skirt, a full sleeved top [...]
Lorraine wonders about Enid Blyton:
However, as much as I still love her work, I have to agree that going back and reading her books is a mixed bag. Many ‘characters’ are actually caricatures, and barely cover the bare skeletons of age-old stereotypes. Like, when I went back and read Malory Towers, I was stunned at [...]
Do smelly people bother you? Read this:
There was a time when we had 3-4 such smelly people at work around me. I always felt like that little boy in sixth sense uttering in that hushed tone “I see smelly people, they are all around me. Walking around like regular people. They can’t smell anything about [...]
Do you think you need to be in some kind of emotional trauma in order to write well? Gurinder believes otherwise.
From a mind besieged by malignant ghosts, day in and day out, don’t expect poetry.
India Stinking and Dalits in Dravidian Land
Published by February 22nd, 2007 in Books and Caste. 0 CommentsAniket Alam had reviewed two books (Dalits in Dravidian Land: Frontline Reports on Anti-Dalit Violence in Tamil Nadu (1995-2004) by S. Viswanathan and India Stinking: Manual Scavengers in Andhra Pradesh and their Work by Gita Ramaswamy) for HardNews magazine last year. He has now posted this review on his blog and it is definitely worth [...]
Nikamma writes about well-researched ‘Indian-ness’ (or the lack of it) in Alan Dean Foster’s sci-fi novel, Sagramanda.
Clearly, Foster has spent time trying to understand the country at a subcutaneous level. First, he’s created a technical universe in which the gadgets and effects have been tailored to Indian life. Automatic brewers serve up tea on [...]
More on the Great Indian Middle Class
Published by February 19th, 2007 in Media, Prejudice and Society. 0 CommentsThe ‘Un’Common Man tells us why he is ashamed of the Great Indian Middle Class:
I am ashamed of the ‘great Indian middle class’.
Where were/are they:
- When a dalit woman and her daughter were raped & murdered by half the upper-class menfolk of a village in maharashtra?
- When women were raped in moving cars in the [...]
I have never been pampered. I have never been given everything I ever asked for at the drop of a pin. I have never been allowed night after night of going out and having fun. I have never been allowed to laze around in bed and get 5 extra hours of sleep. I have never [...]
pricky writes a brief post about learned behaviour and sexual orientation:
Sexual preferences more than anything are learnt. No human being is completely oriented to one side of the fence [...]
Deny if you must but the fact of the matter is that if you hadn’t learned and set to default your preference, chances are you would [...]
T.R.J. Nair finds an interesting song, which begins thus:
The rulers who control all knowledge,
Claim the Ramayana to be India’s history
And called us many names -demons, low castes, untouchables.
But we were the aborigines of this land.
Listen to our story.
Monica Mody finds that Delhi has become a dismal city:
The same day, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) razes a Mughal era monument in Gurgaon to acquire land for the Delhi Metro. The same day, the Delhi govt unveils Master Plan 2021, which imagines, improbably, endless skyscrapers and pedestrian and cycle tracks. The same day, [...]
To the people of Gujarat
Published by February 7th, 2007 in Democracy, History, Human Rights and India. 0 CommentsGarima writes a letter:
The voice of democracy seems to have won again. ‘Parzania’–a movie focussing on the true story of the turmoil brought into the lives of thousands affected by the Gujarat riots, shall not be screened in theatres across Gujarat, after a political activist attempted self-immolation. The director, producer and actors of the movie [...]
Drops of Jupiter writes a post on why she thinks starving oneself in order to conform to market-generated standards of beauty is “stupid”:
The way I see it, the 21 year old weighing 88 pounds didn’t die of starvation. She died of stupidity. Starvation by choice, isn’t a disease like cancer- it is very much curable, [...]
Nisha Susan writes about two books that she read recently:
One of my pet rants is that there has been no interesting voices in Indian children’s literature since the demise of Target. Of late this has been coupled by the not so secret belief that Bottle Imp and I are going to change all that [...]
Why should people watch “Parzania”? A few reasons by Roshan R.
Because it’s time to take a break from the escapism of Bollywood.
Because this film doesn’t need a Khan or Yash Raj banner to carry it.
Because it is a true story.
Because it takes more courage than you and I have to make this film and then [...]
A story about growing old…Told with remarkable restraint by Gopal Sathe.
He had been very proud of his hands once. He’d had big strong hands, hands formed by years of hard work and struggle. He could make anything with his own two hands, he had always boasted, and it was actually not that much of a [...]
…I think of my father and my mother’s father. Men who are never going to open up. Because they can’t - for different reasons - but because they hear the voices in their heads that tell them to be men. To never talk about how they are doing. To never admit to themselves how they [...]
What happens when your music player decides that it has a mind of its own? What happens when that decision takes place when you are listening to the inspiration of your childhood, Jane Goodall? Read Jerusha’s post to know all about it.
You’ve seen that ‘Beware, the evil-cell-phone-users-zapping-aliens are watching’ they show in theatres before movies [...]
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